Benjamin Blake Nichols

Benjamin Blake Nichols was born on Thursday, July 28, 2011 at around 9:20 PM.  He weighed 6 lb 10 oz and was 18.5 inches long.

The NICU team notice Benjamin having some problems with his breathing shortly after he was born.  His breathing rate was really fast...he was taking short quick breaths.  They took him and admitted him to the NICU so they could monitor his breathing and give him some oxygen.  He was also given an x-ray on his chest and it was discovered that his lungs weren't quite developed all the way.  They gave him some medicine to help his lungs develop and open up.  Luckily, he only needed the one dose because his x-rays this morning showed that his lungs were perfect!!  He is ready to be of the oxygen and has started feeding today.  I am hoping that they can get him to pass all the test he needs to this week so that we can have him home before next Saturday!

I must say that having a baby in the NICU makes your hospital stay a little different!  I don't have a baby to take care of so there isn't much for me to do in the hospital.  I do go over to the NICU frequently to hold Benjamin's fingers or hold him but it isn't the same.  I am not looking forward to going home empty handed on Monday.  I came to the hospital to have a baby and I want to leave the hospital with my baby!!

Tonight's THE Night

We will be meeting Benjamin in a few hours!!  More details will be coming soon...

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting...

I have decided that pregnancy is just a big waiting game.  It seems this last little bit is taking FOREVER!!  I think the biggest problem is that I was planning on having a baby at the end of August and then that got changed to possibly the middle of August because Benjamin is so big.  Now, I have been told it could happen anytime and I am not really liking this answer!!  I feel nervous about every little bit of pain that I feel wondering if it is tearing of my scar tissue or just pressure on the scar.  It is not fun!  Time used to fly between my appointments and not it is taking FOREVER!  I go again on Thursday (tomorrow) and will actually see my doctor so I am hoping to have more answers about what the game plan is going to be.  I am pretty sure that Benjamin will be born in the next week...I just hope it is not on Samantha's birthday (my sisters share a birthday and they have both told me to avoid it if at all possible)!  I talked to Samantha about the possibility of her brother being born on her birthday and she was excited until I told her that meant we would be spending the day in the hospital instead of out celebrating her birthday...I am not sure she wants to share a birthday anymore!!

Coming sooner that expected

That is the news on Benjamin today!  The doctor is hoping I can make it another 2 weeks until I hit 35 weeks but isn't sure that will happen.  I got my first of two steroid shots today for Benjamin's lung development and get the second one tomorrow.  Apparently my scar tissue is getting really thin...I mean REALLY thin!!  I have strict orders to go directly to the hospital if there is anymore pain where my c-section scar from Josh is.  We shall see what the next two weeks hold.  Next week they will do an ultrasound to check it again but in the mean time I might need to start thinking about having a hospital bag packed!!!

I can't sleep

One of the many things that I hate about pregnancy is insomnia!  I have had some form of it with all my pregnancies.  It is not fun to be completely exhausted but unable to fall asleep.  Usually I am up from 3:00-5:00 AM or if I miss the 3 AM wake-up then I am up for the day at about 5:30 AM!!  It is not fun.  Tonight it is almost 1:00 AM and I can't sleep.  My body just can't get comfortable and I have heartburn...fun stuff!  I also hate when people tell me that it is just my body getting ready for the baby...sorry I don't buy it!  At least when I have the baby there is a reason for me to be up and I can feed the baby and go back to sleep.

I had my fetal monitoring today.  My fluid levels are still in the normal range.  The nurse doing my ultrasound was commenting on Benjamin's chubby cheeks so I told her that he is HUGE and as of last Thursday weighed 6 lbs.  She was a little shocked (I have found out he should only weigh 4 pounds right now)!  You've got to love it when you can surprise the nurses in the doctor's office with the size of your child...

6 pounds...

I would love to tell you that I am looking at delivering a nice, small 6 pound baby but that would require me giving birth TODAY!  I had an ultrasound today to measure how Benjamin is growing and he is measuring 6 pounds at 32 weeks...not a good sign for a mom who wanted a small baby.  I guess Benjamin wants to make sure he beats Joshua's record 9 lb 12 oz at birth.  They will measure again in 4 weeks and then probably deliver him because he could be 9 pounds by then!  I was hoping he would come earlier than 39 weeks (the scheduled date for his arrival) but I wasn't thinking he would come early because he is too big!  Here are a few pictures from today...

SEVEN!!!

As of tomorrow I will only have seven weeks left!  We are very excited to meet our little boy.  Samantha and I got to see a really good shot of his face in an ultrasound on Monday.  I started my fetal monitoring this week so we will have appointments every Monday and Thursday until Benjamin is born.  I have once again been very lucky to have a good friend that is willing to watch my kids.  Samantha likes to come to the appointments so she can see the ultrasound and it is fun to have her along!  We have had a rocky couple of weeks since I got sick with the flu.  My amniotic fluid levels have been low so I have had to take it easy.  They like the fluid level to be at least 10 cm and mine was barely that when I went to the doctor two weeks ago.  I was told to stay out of the heat, drink LOTS of water (at least a gallon a day), and take it easy.  Luckily, those things seem to be working because on Monday my level was up to 11.16 cm!  I was told I still need to stay off my feet as much as possible and keep drinking as much as possible.  I felt a lot better knowing that my levels were going up instead of still going down (before I got sick I think my fluid was at 13 cm).  The only bad thing about all of this is that it is really hard to get things done around the house while trying to take it easy!!  Oh, well...Jeff and I will do what it takes to keep this baby inside a little longer!